A corpora



N. MININBERG. MOVING SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-9,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET A/M/h/hefg. Z

N. MININBERG.

movm s SIGN. APPLICATION FILED AUG.9, l9l5.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-HEET 2.

gnmnto'a plmlmnj mggxml attozmg NATHAN MININBERG, OF DICKINSON,

NORTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MININBERG- AUTOMATIC ADVERTISING COMPANY, OF DICKINSON, NORTH DAKOTA, A CORPORA- TION OF NORTH DAKOTA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

MOVING SIGN.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Application filed. August 9, 1915. Serial No. 44,458.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN MININBERG, a subject of the Emperor of Russia, and a resident of the United States, residing at Dickinson, in the county of Stark'and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Moving Signs;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. p

This invention relates to changeable signs, and has for its object to provide a movable device of this character which will be simple in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and moreefiicient in opera tion than those which have been heretofore proposed. I

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts,

more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming apart of th s specification, in which like numerals designate like parts in all the viewsFigure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view, taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 of an apparatus made in accordance With my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, but seen from a direction at right angles to that in which Fig. 1

is seen; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the belt and of one of the sign plates; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

1 indicates any suitable framework or casing, but preferably providedwith a transparent opening 2, and located in said casing is the motor 3, provided with the pinion 4 operating the gear 5, mounted on the shaft 6 provided with the worm 7 meshing with the gear 8, mounted on the shaft 9 carrying the pinion 10 meshing with the gear 11 mounted on the shaft 20. Also mounted on the said shaft 20 is a mutilated orintermittent gear 110 adapted'to engage the pinion 12 mounted on the shaft 13, see Fig. 2. Also mounted on the shaft 13 is a pair of sprockets 14, only one of which appears in Fig. 1

adapted to engage the sprocket chains 16 and 17 respectively. Thesprocket chain 16 passes upwardly over the sprocket wheel 18, mounted on the shaft 19, over the sprocket wheel 21, mounted on the shaft 22, and down under the sprocket wheel 23 mounted on the shaft 24, all as will be clear from Fig. 1. Also mounted on the shaft 19 on the opposite side of the casing is a sprocket wheel 25 and likewise mounted on the shaft 22 on the opposite side of the casing from the sprocket Wheel 21', is a sprocket wheel 26 as will be clear from Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The sprocket chain 17, after leaving the sprocket 65 mounted on the shaft 24 passes upwardly over the said sprockets 25 and 26, and downwardly over the other sprocket 14, mounted on the shaft 13 and not shown. In other words, it will be understood from the drawings that the path of the endless chain 17 is parallel in all respects to the path of the endless chain 16, and that the shafts 13, 19, 22 and 24 carry sprockets at their opposite ends corresponding respectively to the iprockets 14, 18, 21 and 23 illustrated in Each of the chains 16 and 17 are provided with lifting pins 30, as will be clear from Figs. 3, 4, and 5 and each of the sign plates 7 or members 31 are provided on their vertical edges preferably near the top thereof, with the hook like members 32 with which the pins 30 of the chains 16 and 17 engage.

Referring more especially to Fig. 2 it will now be clear that since the pins 30 on the chains 16 and 17 extend toward each other and since the sign plates 31 are slightly shorter than the space between said chains 16 and 17 when the said endless chains 16 and 17 are rotated the said sign plates-will be lifted and carried around the paths of said chains in such a manner that they will clear the guide sprockets 18 and 25, 21 and 26, etc.

In order thatthere may be provided a larger number of sign plates 31 than could be well accommodated by a single pair of endless chains 16 and 17, I provide a pile or a plurality of said plates 31, indicated by the numeral 40, andthis said pile of sign plates is supported upon the endless belt 41 passing over the drums or rollers '42 and 43 mounted on the shafts 44 and 45 respectively. The said belt 41 is preferably made of leather or other' smooth material in order that while maintaining the plates 31 in osition, it may slip or slide beneath the said plates 31, if for any reason the said belt is moved faster than the said plates are removed therefrom. On the shaft v I also mountthe ratchet wheel 46 and on a bracket 47 secured to the inside of the casing I mount thelever 48 having ivoted thereto-as at 49 the pawl 50 adapte to enigage said ratchet 46. Carried on the shaft 24 is a disk or wheel 51 provided with a pin 52 adapted to strike the lever 48 once during each revolution and thereby cause f .the pawl 50 to turn the ratchet 46-one notch and thereupon move the endless conveyer 41 a corresponding distance.- The parts are so proportioned that the distance the conveyer is moved will be substantially the thickness of one plate 31, and therefore the upper edges of said plates 31, together with their hooks 32- will be fed from the pile 40,

one at a time, into the paths of movement of the pins 30 carried by the belts 16 and 17 so that the said plates 31 will be picked up one at a time from the pile 40 and car- .ried in a vertical direction opposite the transparent opening 2, where, owing to the intermittent motion of the belts 16 and 17 imparted by the mutilated gear 11, the said plates 31 will be caused to pause or remain exposed to view through said opening 2, for predetermined times.

As the plates 31 are picked up one at a time and thus exposed at the opening 2, they pass on upwardly in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1; they pass the first pair of sprockets 21 and 26 in the manner indicated above; they then hang .vertically as illustrated in Fig. 1 as they pass the second pair of sprockets 18 and '25 and are finally brought back to the pile of plates 40 and deposited one at a time upon said intermittently moving belt conveyer 41, all

as will be clear from the drawings.

' In order that the pile 40 may be the more securely held in place, I provide above the conveyer 41 a rectangular bottomless casing into which the said plates 31 are dropped one at a time, and through the bottom of which they project to reach the said belt 41 as will be readily understood. The casing 60 is'provided at one end wit an inclined wall 61 against which the end plate of the pile 40 is a apted to rest. The plates in the said pile will thus be inclined as shown, so as to bring the hook like members 32 carried by their upper edges into the paths of the pins 30, whereby the engagement of the said members 32 by the pins It will thus be seen that by-automatically connecting and disconnecting the plates from the continuously traveling belts 16 and 17 I am enabled to provide a large quantity of plates as is indicated by the pile 40 and therefore to expose a much larger variety of signs than it would be possible to display were the plates permanently attached to the endless traveling belts 16 and 17.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction, as well as the arrangement of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be'limited to the above disclosure except .as may be required by the claims.

What I claim is: g i e 1. In a movable sign apparatus, the combination of a pair of endless belts; sprocket wheels for guiding said belts inpredeter-' mined paths; oppositely projecting lifting pins carried by said belts; a motor and connections for intermittently moving said belts; independent sign members provided with hook like members adapted to be en-' gaged by said lifting pins; movable means to support said members; a bottomless frame above said movable means to hold said sign members in place; and means comprising a pawl and ratchet to cause said supporting means to move said hook like members into the paths of said lifting pins, substantially as described.

2. In a movable sign apparatus the com bination of a pair of endless belts; sprocket wheels for guiding said belts in predetermined paths; oppositely projecting lifting pins carried by said belts; means for intermittently moving said belts; independent sign members provided with hook like members adapted to be engaged by said lifting pins; movable means comprising a smooth endless belt to support said sign members when disengaged from said pins';'means ac-v tuated by said first named endless belts for intermittently moving said second endless belt; and a bottomless frame provided with an inclined wall abovesaid secondendless belt, adapted to hold said sign members in alinement and to incline them so as to bring their upper portions only in the paths of said lifing pins, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of a witness.

NATHAN MININ BERG.

Witness T. A. WIrHERsrooN. 

